Miles Over Miles
by Gil-dae
Summary: Set in high school. Legolas and Haldir had long been lovers...but how close were they? For another one has come into Legolas' complicated life: Aragorn, a mysterious man that seems to want Legolas' love.
1. Chapter 1

            *sigh* I need to stop having caffeine so that I don't sit around half of the night thinking up insane ideas like this one.  But alas, I cannot do that.  *shivers* A life without caffeine?  No, impossible.  

            Do I need to say this again?  I will though.  As with most of my stories, there is SLASH!  You know what that means, right?  Of many pairings indeed.  Yes, many pairings throughout the story.  This is a very boring paragraph to write over and over, but I DESPISE flames about how horrible slash is, so I will suffer through writing it.  

            But please, give me feedback and tell me if I should continue this story!  I know what I want of it but I don't know if I want to get it there.  And tell me what you like and don't like about it (excluding, of course, the topic of slash).

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_            In life, there are times when all a person can do is look back over what happened and wonder how.  How did this come about?  How did it end this way?  How did it begin?  Sometimes all one can do is ponder without answers.  When I look back to last year, all that comes is a blur to me, faces around me, a swirl of colors and emotions, lost in the horrid screams of my own insides.  There is not one sole event that gives it any type of structure.  Everything is there, melded into one thought and one confused memory.  Sometimes, in the dark of night, I can hear voices again, sole images, a kiss here, a caress there, tears, blending with blood all around me.  But beginning and ends are long gone.  It just was; it will always just be._

_            I can look back over the shining __Atlantic Ocean__ and feel the cool breeze blowing through my hair, combing it back like a many-fingered hand.  And I can turn around and see him beside me, a translucent figure with only an outline, a chilly hand on my rigid shoulder.  When I cry into the wind, his calloused hand brushes my tears away.  When I tumble to the ground, I can hear his playful laughter.  Everywhere I step brings a new memory to me.  Sitting in a crowd there, he is beside me, an arm around my waist.  It doesn't matter.  He had a promise to me and he keeps it.  He promised to make every day a wonder for me.  _

_            And they were wonders when I beheld him.  Wonders when I could not go further in life.  That year was the hardest of my life, when I felt like slipping away silently, leaving on my imprint upon the world.  Yet, it was also the most blissful time in my existence.  _

_            It was the only time in my life that I do not regret living.  _

Chapter 1: Storms at sea

            Summer, blissful summer, beautiful summer in a small oceanfront town.  Suddenly the town was alive with tourists, the shops were all open and flooded with people, cars disturbed the once quiet streets, and everyone felt in a much better mood then they were before.  Not only was there no school, but it was is a magical time when the sun rose from behind the waves and lit up the waters and then set late in the evening, covering all of the town in a golden haze.  You could sit around and do nothing for days without a single worry or care.  You were content to sit out on your porch, see the lap of the waves or the activities of those around you, and take that as entertainment.  And the ocean, oh the ocean, shimmering in the morning light, glowing at high noon, red gold as the sun set from behind it.  Could you want any more?  

            But then slowly August came, and the lazy days of summer faded like the final sunset over the waves, crashing against the shore.  People departed for their own homes, leaving the town empty once more, alone as the final week before school commences drew nearer and nearer.  Finally, it came.  There was almost no one left now, the town deserted but its inhabitants.  That was said to be the saddest time of the year to an inhabitant of an ocean town.  

            I could not agree more.  But as I sat on my back porch swing, watching another sunset over the tops of buildings behind me, I felt content.  The days were not bad, just lonely.  No more new friend.  No more excitement.  Just the feelings of being lost in the world as you only have your relatives and other friends left.  

            Sometimes that wasn't bad though.  

            "Legolas, one of your friends is here!" my father called from where he sat inside.  I nodded and waited, lounging back in the chair.  I guessed who it was this time.  He came about now, to sit and chat, all alone even if we had just spent the entire day together.  There were his familiar footfalls, his sneakers on the wood of the stairs up the back of our house to the screened in pouch where I sat.  I pretended not to see him as he opened the door and stood in the doorway, arms crossed.  But I could not help but stare at him, in all his splendor tonight, with his tight fishnet shirt, covered by a black collared over shirt open to the world and his shorts, covered in chains and other trinkets.  A gust of wind blew back his white blonde hair, cut to his shoulder.  He blinked and waited, tapping his foot.  

            "You know you can come in if you want," I stated.  Haldir merely shrugged, making some of the chains he wore clank.  

            "But no hello kiss?" he said, pouting.  I tilted my head to one side impatiently.  Finally, Haldir gave in and plopped down next to me on the swing.  He did kiss me though, warmly, sweetly, as he always did.  I giggled as he pulled away and he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.  

            "School starts tomorrow," I announced to my long-time lover.  Haldir closed his eyes and put an arm around my shoulder.  I leaned into him and wrapped both arms around his waist.  

            "Yep," he whispered.  "Have to go back to that hellhole."  I sat up and rested my chin on his shoulder, a scolding look in my eyes.    

            "Did we not go over this already?" I chided.  "School isn't that bad and you know it.  Anyway, it doesn't matter whether you like it or not.  I'm making you go for the_ full _year this time, not just when you want to come.  Understand?" I threatened.  Haldir threw up his hands in exasperation before brushing his lips over mine.  

            "Of course, sweet doll of mine," he muttered, running his hand lightly down my back.  I shivered at his touch.  With his other hand, he reached for my belt, unthreading it from the buckle.  With a flick of his wrist, it was gone and he reached for the zipper of my pants.  I grabbed his wrist.  

            "Haldir," I pleaded.  "Not now.  My father is already nervous about you, and I don't think he wants to walk out on us…"

            "Then let me go tell him not to come outside or he'll walk in on a most unnerving scene indeed," Haldir stated calmly.  He made to move, but I held his wrist firmly, glaring up at him.  Haldir sighed and sat down heavily, handing me my belt.  "Fine, have it your way," he muttered.  Suddenly, his face perked up.  "Hey, my house is free.  My old folks won't be there for the entire night."  He raised his eyebrows and seized me by the waist, dragging me to my feet.  "Let's go over there."  He opened the door to my house.  My father, quietly watching TV inside the den, turned his head to Haldir.  

            "Pops, Legsie here and I are going over to my house, 'right?  He'll be back tomorrow."  My father narrowed his eyes, but all I gave him was a shrug.  He looked skyward, mumbled a few words, and shook his head.  Haldir took that as a yes and grinned.  "Thanks, man."  With that, he slammed the door shut and pulled me out of the porch and down the stairs to the garage below. 

            "Hey, Haldir, you know that tomorrow is the first day of…"

            "To hell with school!" Haldir yelled.  "Come on, I bet my old man left some beer in the fridge or something."  I looked skyward in a beseeching manner as Haldir babbled on.  His house was only three houses down, unfortunately.  But I really had no choice, in the end.  It was either this or face Haldir's wrath, which was never a good thing.  But awaiting me was an even more frightening scene…Haldir drunk.  He had never had much of a tolerance for any alcoholic drink…at all…but he loved almost every one.  And his father never seemed to have a shortage of them for Haldir to pilfer.  I groaned and trudged along behind him without a complaint.  Unconsciously, my hand went to my shoulder, where a long scar ran from there to my neck.  I traced the strange skin under my t-shirt and silently mulled over the past.  

            "Hey, man, come on!  Sun's almost set anyway, and I can order pizza if you want…"  I stared once into the west, where the sun had almost disappeared over the tops of houses, and followed after Haldir reluctantly.  

***

            "What time is it?" I asked, mumbling in my sleep.  Haldir sat up and looked at the glowing dial of a clock.  

            "Four," he informed me.  I pulled him close to me and rested my head on his chest, yawning widely.  He stroked my hair that fell down my bare shoulders in a golden cascade.  Suddenly, I felt his hand around my wrist.    

            "Do you remember when I gave you this?" Haldir whispered in my ear as he held up my wrist.  I studied it and saw what it was he talked of.  It was the bracelet I wore, spiked with little silver spikes, black metal beneath.  He kissed the top of one of the spikes.  "Your promise to me that you shall always be faithful while that bracelet sits upon your wrist."  I snuggled in closer to him.  We were sprawled across his bed, the sheets a mess around us.  He had one leg thrown over me, and I rested my head on his bare chest.  I shrugged, feeling a bit too tired now to dwell on that subject.  

            "You linked in on my wrist," I muttered.  "You linked it around my wrist and locked it there, forever keeping it on me.  'And to the end of the earth you are mine, Legolas, sweet porcelain Legolas, my lover, my toy, everything and more to me with your silky skin and your soft hair, your quite nature, and your ice blue eyes that always bore into my soul, even when I am above you and we are both drunk on passion.'  That is what you said to me as you locked the bracelet into place."  He nodded and ran his face along my arm, licking at it until he reached my shoulder.  

            "And you are mine," he muttered, rolling me over and shifting me under him.  "You will always be mine to have and hold, belonging to no one else.  My sweet Legolas."  He kissed my lips with renewed passion, but I groaned in pain.  He pulled away, looking at me.  Then he ran a hand along my lips.  They were bleeding from earlier this night.  He smiled and licked away the blood.  "Even more mine now," he breathed, gently kissing me now.  His lips ran down me.  I know I should feel alight at his touch, as I always did, alight, every bone burning, but I felt nothing, nothing but slight pleasure at him.  Why was there nothing for me?  But I knew that pleasure would come again, soon, as his mouth ran down me to its final destination.  

            But did I want this?  My mind raced when it should be still, locked onto only his soft lips and my sheer ecstasy.  What was wrong now?  What was different now?  _You are mine.  _That is what he had said.  But I did not appear his now.

            Fire ran through my body and I moaned, on the brink of losing myself again.  _You are mine._  Suddenly I was back, the fire blazing but my mind functional.  _You are only mine_.  _Mine, all mine.  _I closed my eyes as I felt water at their edges.  

            _You are mine.  _

***

            "Dammit, Haldir, why didn't you wake me up?" I shouted.  Haldir lounged on the couch, watching the TV screen flash in front of his half-closed eyes.  Haldir shrugged.  I had just stormed out of his bedroom, pulling on my clothes.  "Its nine-o-clock!"  A grin passed over Haldir's face as I slipped my shirt over my head.  "We have _school_, you know!  Haldir, are you even listening to me?"  Haldir turned a glare on me.  

            "I know very well we have school," he spat.  "So don't get all angry about it!  And don't shout at me!"  He stood up angrily; storming passed me to his room at the end of the hall to grab his shoes and books.  "You still have to get your stuff, don't you?" he growled as he walked to the small kitchen that joined with his den.  He grabbed a set of car keys off the green counter top and strode to the door.  I followed after him.  

            "Listen, didn't I tell you that you should set your alarm clock so that we wake up soon enough…"  Haldir's shoulders sagged.  

            "Well, sweet Legolas, I didn't see you reminding me about it," Haldir retorted.  I rolled my eyes and followed after him, leaving out the front door and down a flight of stairs to his car.  

            "It's not like I could do anything with you on top of me half of the night!"  Haldir whirled around, and I gasped, knowing I had overstepped the bounds.  He raised his hand to me, but instead let it fall to his side with a chuckle.  

            "I can't believe you would say something like that Legolas.  Do you not care?"  He climbed in the driver's side, and I followed in the other door.  I let out a sigh and put a hand on his arm.  

            "I do care," I said sweetly.  "Of course I care."  It was so simple to backtrack with him sometimes.  He grinned and kissed the top of my head before speeding down the driveway.  We stopped by my house so I could slip in and get my books.  My father had already left for work, luckily, and my presence went unnoticed.  I slid into the car, and we were gone, zooming away to the school not far from here.  

            "Hey, you gonna pull up your hair?" Haldir asked, fingering one strand of it as we drove.  "You haven't put it up all year, and I love it like that.  There should be a hair tie somewhere down there."  He indicated the mess at my feet of trash and other items.  I dug through it until I found a small rubber band.  That would do.  Slowly, I pulled my hair back in a half tail behind my head.  It always made me look the full part of a girl, but Haldir loved it dearly when I did that.  Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea this time, after the previous argument.  Haldir smiled and ran the tail through his fingers.  

            "Beautiful, my golden lover," he said.  "You know, it's amazing I haven't lost you yet.  You're so stunning, just stunning.  And I bet there are plenty of guys out there just waiting for you.  You could make any guy love you, if you wanted.  But you're mine, so I guess I shouldn't worry."  I shut my eyes to the world and slouched in the chair, resting my head.  

            Finally, we pulled up to the high school.  Haldir took the only free space in the parking lot, and we both bolted from the car, me almost dragging Haldir along.  He shouted for me to stop, but we were already late enough.  

           Once we made it to the building, we were out of breath.  We had missed our first period class already, I noted, for when we entered the building, the hall was full of students.  I quickly hid in the crowd.  Now, what number was my locker supposed to be again?  There should be a chart around here somewhere.  But, unfortunately, I felt the barrier of arms hit me.  I looked around at familiar faces.  

            "Legolas, there you are!  Thought you and ol' Haldir were skippin' today or something, even though its only the first day," Glorfindel said to me as he leaned on a locker.  He flicked a strand of black hair out of his dark eyes.  "Wake up late?"  I sighed and read the chart beside the lockers.  Glorfindel was leaning on mine.  I motioned for him to move, and he shifted away.  I hastily threw my books in.  

            "Hey, its Haldir's little eunuch boy," Faramir called.  I glowered at him.  

            "How many times to I have to repeat it?" I whispered harshly.  Faramir shrugged his shoulders and advanced towards me.  

            "Well, I mean, Haldir never lets us close enough to see."  I glared at him and took a step back, but Haldir had caught up to me, along with a female trailing behind him.  

            "Hey, now, that's bad business Faramir.  And even when your girl's been looking for ya," Haldir chastised, wrapping an arm around my waist.  The woman behind him appeared and glared at Faramir, daggers in her eyes.  

            "I saw that," she spat at him.  Faramir looked up at the ceiling.  There was one thing in this world that was able to frighten him: Éowyn, his beloved girlfriend.  I really didn't understand them.  They loved each other dearly, yes, but Éowyn just didn't seem Faramir's type.  She was average, more boyish then most women, but not at all like us.  I glanced around.  There was Glorfindel, dark, brooding, with his traditional black t-shirt and jeans.  There was Haldir with his demon-like glory.  There was me, his little slave, lover, whatever you want to call it, cold, heartless, just as black as the rest of us.  And there was Faramir, pessimistic, dark, and cynical, not at all like Éowyn.  Well, maybe except for their obstinate natures, and Éowyn did have a cold streak to her.  But really, she had a good heart.  We were just the outcasts with no hearts at all to speak of.  But here she stayed, with us, with her sweet Faramir.  

            "Oh, guess what?" Éowyn said to Faramir, but I overheard the conversation.  "My brother's friend if finally coming here, what's his name, Aragorn.  But he's so odd, when I think about it, for sometimes he can be so quiet and brooding, but then he is also sociable at times, quite a good conversationalist.  He doesn't have many friends and has always been home schooled by his father…"

            "Are you listening to me?" Haldir asked, waving a hand in front of my face.  I turned to him and smiled.  

            "What was that?"  Haldir let out a sigh.  

            "Maybe you are only a good bed companion," he grumbled playfully.  "We should get to class though…after missing the first one it wouldn't be great to be late."  I nodded and grabbed my books and schedule from my locker.  Together, we headed down the hall until our ways parted for our different classes.  He gave me one quick kiss and we were gone.  

            I guess that in truth, there were other outcasts then just my group, many more, but we were the rejects of the rejects.  I had merely forgotten about the others.  The next lowest trash, right above us, was a motley crew of people, anyone who really didn't fit in anywhere else.  Most of them artistic, creative, intelligent…but probably legally insane.  They only crossed my mind though as I entered the art room, for it was empty but them, taking up a table in the back of the room.  I sat down at the one adjacent to that and waited for the room to fill up, observing them from a distance.  It was a crew, all right.  Boromir, Faramir's older brother, a bit of a show-off, from what I knew.  Elrohir and Elladan, twin brothers who were both troublemakers with the strong idea that conformity was death.  Rúmil, a quite fellow, bookworm of the highest caliber, who even now had his nose stuck there.  But, for all of that, he was quite athletic.  Éomer, kind most of the time but very short tempered in the end.  Right now, they were all having an argument over something or another.  It was an interesting sight to watch, Rúmil sometimes throwing in a comment here and there, Éomer shouting something, Boromir arguing just as furiously, and Elrohir and Elladan making the same comments at mostly the same time.  I did not pay attention to what it was though, content just to listen to their mannerisms.  

            Until something else disturbed my thoughts.  I heard the scraping of a chair across from me and looked up.  In front of me was a stranger.  He had long brownish hair, unkempt, that fell to his shoulders in waves.  A few strands fell in front of his eyes, but he made no move to push them away.  His skin was somewhat tanned, and set into his face were the most stunning eyes I had ever seen, beautiful grey-blue eyes.  He was tall, taller then even Haldir.  He smiled at me when he saw me gazing at him.  

            "Hello," he said.  I almost started at his politeness.  To most people, I was like some type of germ, meant to be avoided at all costs.  But here he came, plopping down across from me without a second thought.  He had turned his head to glance at the argument beside him and let out a chuckle.  

            "There goes Éomer again," he said to me.  "Always fighting with anyone he can pick a fight with."  I nodded once.  "So, what's your name?" he asked, trying to make some sort of conversation.

            "Legolas," I said shortly.  I was not in much of a sociable mood, and this person was ticking me off.  Why I could not place my finger on, but he got under my skin.  

            "Oh, my name's Aragorn," he replied.  So this was Aragorn.  

            "Oi, look, Aragorn's here now!" Éomer called out, breaking away from his heated discussion.  He gave me a disdainful look and sauntered over to the table, sitting down beside Aragorn.  "Come on with us a pull up a chair."  Aragorn shrugged and leaned back to emphasize his point.  Around us, I saw other students filing in and pretended to pay them attention instead of watching the exchange here.  

            "Well, then, you can just be that way," Éomer huffed when Aragorn did not say a word.  Maybe he was as Éowyn said, always silent like that.  

            "Oh, Éomer, I thought we had signed up for all different classes!" a female voice called.  Éowyn ran up to her brother and smiled at him.  "But obviously I can never get rid of you."  She settled down beside me.  "Oh, and Haldir's in here too, you should know.  Don't know if Faramir is."  But I had thought that Haldir told me he had something else now…

            "You and Faramir," Éomer groaned.  "Always babbling about Faramir!"  

            "You're just jealous," Éowyn retorted with a grin.  I smiled just a bit at Éowyn's antics, but a hand wrapped around my neck and I felt someone's lips brush along my neck.  

            "Public place," I reminded Haldir.  He grabbed a free chair and scooted up to me, resting his elbows on the table and looking up into my eyes.  

            "Well, I'm sorry.  We'll just have to finish this in the bathroom then…"  I put a hand over Haldir's mouth to silence him before he could get out of hand.  It was bad enough being so…pretty, but having Haldir openly flaunt our relationship made it worse.  I had enough problems as it was.  Plus, it wasn't as if we were alone with his close friends.  No, this classroom was basically full, with Éomer and Aragorn sitting across from us.   

            "Well, it looks like everyone is here," the teacher said.  Haldir hid his face in his arms, making to doze off for the class.  "My name is Mr. Greyhame, but I was never one for formalities.  Just call me Gandalf."  I took my eyes off Haldir and looked up to the front of the class where the teacher stood.  He was old, leaning on a walking stick just a bit taller then he, with long white hair and a beard.  His eyes moved over each person slowly, studying them, taking them in.  I punched Haldir's arm as I heard snores coming from him.  He looked up groggily.  "As you know, we will work on the art of people in this class.  I could give you a lecture on the first day about the obstacles of drawing humans, but I would rather not.  Instead, I want you to think back in your memory and draw…let's say…your mother as you saw her when you were a child, before she became what she is to your eyes now.  There should be paper on the counter, along with pencils.  Draw in whatever style you would like…excluding that," he added as Elrohir raised his hand, "which is currently on your mind, Elrohir.  Oh, don't think I don't know you."  He smiled to the rest of the class while the twins whispered to each other.  "Please, begin when you want."  

            "Damn," Haldir mumbled.  "I don't want to draw my mother from back then.  Even when I was little she was a bitch…"

            "Then just draw your mother now," Éowyn suggested.  Haldir groaned and sat back down with a piece of paper.  She had already started work on drawing a beautiful woman with long hair like her own, pulled back away from her face.  Éomer, still sitting across from her, had taken a different approach to drawing their mother.  

            I sat down and stared at the paper blankly.  My mother…my mother.  For as long as I can remember, I only knew my father.  My mother had died when I was young, in a car crash as my father told the story.  I saw pictures of her before.  Well, that's all I have, I concluded.  I let my hand run free over the paper, sketching out her finely made face, her delicate features, and her long golden hair very much like my own.  All around me was the scribble of pencils.  

            There was little talk during the period.  Aragorn said nothing more, though sometimes I could feel his eyes on me, watching as I worked.  It made the back of my neck burn to think about it.  Éomer sometimes made a comment, unsure of the silence.  Haldir stayed quite busy with his work, struggling to get it done.  

            Finally, the bell rang.  Gandalf walked around the room, collecting what we had done. 

            "These are merely sketches," he reminded us.  "Eventually, we will have models to do the work from, but right now I want something from memory, to allow you a bit of creativity.  These we will make into paintings though."  He dismissed us, and with a scraping of chairs, we were gone.  

            "Oh, Legolas!" Aragorn called after me as Haldir pulled me away.  I turned around and approached Aragorn, who ran to catch up with me.  "I just wanted to say that…you draw beautifully," he stammered.  I nodded my thanks, hearing Haldir hollering for me to catch up.  "Well, maybe you could help me some…I'm not the greatest artist…but."  I sighed.  

            "Next class I'll look at yours," I comforted him.  He gave a small smile to me and walked in the opposite direction, not even saying goodbye.  I watched his retreating figure in the hallway and saw him round the corner.  

            Finally, seeing him gone, I turned back to Haldir.  

            When I look back, I can't place the reason why I watched him that day, walking down the bright corridor of our school.  What was with him, anyway?  He was mysterious, yes, but I doubted there was anything he truly hid from the world.  I let Haldir take me in again, without Aragorn there.  And what was with him, coming into my life like that?  What did he think about me that didn't make me repulsive to him?  As Haldir chatted to me about something or another, probably some schoolwork he figured that he would need me to help him on by the end of the day; I let my mind wander back to the storm grey eyes and the reclusive smile.  

            I moved through all my classes, paying attention as I always did.  My mind would not wander, not now.  Invariably, in the dreariest of times in class when I felt on the brink of sleep, something would stir in my mind.  And I saw those eyes again.  Dammit Legolas, I thought!  What is wrong with you?  But what amazing eyes, such a perfect shade of grey, with just a few flecks of blue thrown in here and there, almost like the sky after a great storm at sea had lifted, clouds still lingering over the ocean but with blue sky peeping through the breaks, and the way he stared, seemingly observing the world dispassionately, but then he would flash a smile and those eyes lit up…stop thinking about his eyes already!  

            I moved through the rest of the day, finding the ending bell quite a relief.  I could retreat to my own house now and not have to put up with anyone, maybe take a leisurely walk along the beach and admire the ocean.  That would be nice.  Yes, and I could do it alone.  

            "Hey, you need a ride?" Haldir called to me as I walked along the sidewalk.  He pulled up alongside me in his car and stuck his head out the window.  I noted that Glorfindel was in the back of the car.  I shook my head, but he had me already.  He took my wrist and pulled me down until he could kiss me again.  "Come on, let's go."  I tried to walk a few steps, but he just rode alongside me.  With a deep sigh, I conceded, crossing to the passenger's side of the car and hopping in.  He grinned at me and kissed my cheek.  

            "I knew you'd give up in the end."  

            "So, where're we headed?" Glorfindel asked, putting an arm on both of the backs of our chairs and peering between us.  Haldir shrugged.  

            "We can head back to the island or…we'll go to your place," he decided.  

            Ah, yes, it had slipped my mind.  Glorfindel had recently moved away to a farm on the mainland.  For, there was the island, where Haldir, most others, and I lived, where the coastline was.  It was only houses there with some shops scattered around.  Glorfindel had lived with Haldir for a while before getting a job at a farm out from here.  Now, he lived alone on that property.  And his house had become a traditional spot for us to gather.  

            "Never invited you," Glorfindel joked, but we all knew that no one needed an invitation.  So Haldir pulled a u-turn and away we sped inland towards the farm.  

            "So how's your landlord doing?" I asked.  Glorfindel shrugged.  

            "Good enough, as usual," he replied.  I only inquired for my father and the landlord were close acquaintances.  I shrugged at the answer and leaned back in the chair, arms folded, my eyes shut to the outside world buzzing by.  Beside me, Haldir and Glorfindel chatted happily, Glorfindel for once out of his shell that he appeared to be in at most times.  Wind blew through the open window and into my face, and the sun shone down on me.  I could smell the sea breeze all around.  Haldir reached over and took my hand, setting it between us.  But his touch was lovingly now, sweetly.  

            For the first time in many days, I let out a sigh of bliss.   

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

            So, how is it so far?  Good, bad?  Yea, nay?  

            Please review!  I beseech thee review!  

            And now I shall actually remember!  Thanks to my beta for looking this over!  *bows to Amy*   

{~.^} 


	2. Life's Dinner

            I am sooooooooo sorry that took so long to post!  My life's crazy right now, and I haven't had enough time to write everything I want to write!  But I managed to get this chapter out.  

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Chapter 2: Life's Dinner

            You could say that Glorfindel's home was a bit of an improvement from his previous living conditions, in Haldir's extra bedroom of their already small house.  But not much.  The house, placed on the rim of Rivendell farms, was a three-room deal with a bedroom, living room/kitchen, and a bathroom.  Still, for Glorfindel, it was enough.  I supposed I was just too adjusted to my spacious beach house.  He opened the front door (the only door), and Haldir, Glorfindel, and I filed inside.  

            "I've got some drinks somewhere over in the fridge, last check," Glorfindel said as he threw himself on an old couch.  Dirt and dust flew up from it on impact.  Haldir made his way over to the little refrigerator in the corner, pulling out some cans of unknown substances.  Best to keep it that way, I guessed.  I sat in a chair across from Glorfindel.  

            "So how's it been goin' around here?" Haldir asked as he sauntered over to us, throwing two cans in our general direction.  I snatched one before it hit the stone floor below me.  Glorfindel shrugged, unable to speak as he held the rim of the can in his teeth while taking off his shoes.  

            "Well enough," he finally said.  "There's always something to do, of course; Elrond wouldn't have it any other way, but I'm managing.  And pay's enough to live by."  Haldir chuckled at that.  

            "Wish it worked that way with my job.  Working at that store's great in the summer, when there's cash flow, but after that, _poof_, all the money's gone."  Haldir motioned for me to scoot over on the chair.  He flopped down beside me, wrapping an arm around my waist.  

            "And, of course," Glorfindel mocked, "there's sweet little Legolas over here, no job at all, a father who can provide plenty for him, everything he would ever want."  My temper suddenly flared inside of me.  Everything I want!  Ha, that's a laugh!  Walk one day in my shoes, I almost spat at Glorfindel.  Try to live my life for just one day and then you'll see.  Oh, life's far from perfect, bud.  Far from it.  

            "I'd get a job if I could," I retorted.  "But that bastard I have for a father insists that I stay away from such things, claiming that I should wait until I can find a 'respectable job', which, of course, means after college."  Haldir rolled his eyes.  

            "Always blamin' it on your father," he complained.  "Spoiled rotten you are."  

            "And you don't help that at all," Glorfindel noted to Haldir.  Haldir grinned and kissed the top of my head.  My mind told me to get away from this topic of discussion before I let the fires inside of me explode.  I took a few calming breaths.  

            "Oh, Glorfindel, how's Arod doing?" I said quickly.  Glorfindel shrugged again.  

            "Good.  He's been behaving himself, which is a miracle.  At least, I don't think he's scared off any more grooms."  I laughed.  Arod was a bit...temperamental for anyone excluding me.  I could not understand why they whispered that he was a demon horse.  He always behaved under my hand.

            "Hey, you two want to stay for dinner?  I can call up to Elrond's place and tell him you're coming, since he's invited me to a meal tonight."  Haldir shrugged and pulled me closer to him, kissing my shoulder, his eyes half closed.  I nodded in response.  Glorfindel grinned.  "That's great," he announced.  "I was hopin' I'd have some company there."  He moved towards the phone in the other room, leaving Haldir and me alone.  Haldir turned me around until I was facing him, sitting now in his lap, one leg on either side of him.  He twirled a finger around my hair.  

            "You survive school?" he asked.  I grunted in response.  

            "Possibly," I said after a while.  Haldir grinned wolfishly at me.  Suddenly, I felt where this conversation was going.  I felt it in me as Haldir ran his hand down my chest while his lips touched mine.  My body shivered in pleasure while my mind screamed at me to stop this, break away.  

            "Not now, Haldir," I groaned, pushing him off me.  But Haldir was persistent.  His eyes gleamed with joy and longing.  He lusted for me, and there was no moving him from his path.

           Next thing I knew, I was on the couch, Haldir above me, my shirt already on the ground.  He worked at my belt, slipping it free from my pants.  

            "Don't say anything," Haldir grumbled to me, his mind hazy.  I gazed at him with pleading eyes, but he did not relent.  My clothes fell to the floor in a heap.  

            "So Elrond said that everything would be fine for you...two..."  Glorfindel stood in the doorway from his bedroom and the living room.  He raised his eyebrows as I turned my eyes to him.  He glanced once at Haldir, eagerly placing kisses on my pale skin, and cleared his throat.  "Hey, Haldir, seriously!  Can't you hold off just a little while?  Anyway, Elrond told us to come on up for the meal.  It's not ready yet, but he needs to talk to me, and you two should come up also, socialize, you know, with people other then yourselves."  He winked at me, and I gave a knowing smile.  

            "Yes, Haldir," I whispered in his ear, gently lifting him away as I reached for my clothes.  "Glorfindel's right about that."  Haldir objected but did let me get to my clothes.  He glowered at the retreating back of Glorfindel.  

            "Bastard," Haldir said as I slipped my shirt over my head.  I gave an exasperated sigh.  

            "Well he's right," I snapped.  "Can't you ever control yourself...?"  Suddenly his hand slapped my cheek, the cheek he was only moments ago running his hungry lips across.  It stung from his blow, but I did not flinch, did not give him that pleasure.  

            "Don't say that ever again," he warned, "or your punishment will be much worse.  Come on."  He hauled me away from the couch, an arm around my waist.  He called for Glorfindel before dragging me outside.  

            We walked in silence for a while, Glorfindel catching up so he could lead us through the fields.  We walked along a weaving dirt road that joined the two houses.  To either side were pastures.  Sometimes, an occasional horse or two would trot to the fence and follow us, snorting at Glorfindel.  He laughed and told them he was empty handed with a smile, a true, sincere smile.  

            That was the thing about Glorfindel.  Whatever cold shell he had broke around horses.  They were his passion and his love.  He laughed around them, smiled, his dark eyes lighting up with shreds of happiness not apparent on his face otherwise.  It was almost magical what those beasts could do to him.  

            Finally, cresting a small hill, we saw the house of Elrond, sitting alone amongst the fields, the first sign of human life.  It was a mansion of a place.  All the land near to it was filled with trees, unlike the surrounding pastures.  They were green now in the late summertime, that lush green that only comes before a tree turns to brown in the coming winter.  

            The house itself was set up quite strangely.  It was a square structure with a courtyard in the middle.  I had not seen anything of its kind beforehand.  I always admired it, loving the view of flatlands surrounding it.  Haldir finally broke away from me as we entered the miniature forest.  Even he held Elrond in great respect and wouldn't dare to be his traditional...clingy self.

            A young maid opened the door.  She smiled politely and allowed us into the large entrance hallway.  I had entered this house before, briefly, but I was never let in through the front door and it took my breath away.  The oak floor had large rugs covering it, the intricate designs like nothing I had seen.  Paintings covered the paneled walls.  To one side was an ornate, floor-length mirror, its surface glowing in the light, the carvings of trees winding their way up to the point at the top where a wooden star glowed.  Glorfindel had brushed past me, and I took a few hesitant steps.  The floor did not creak beneath my foot.  I cast my gaze above me towards the arched ceiling.  

            "Follow me," the maid said, leading us down a long corridor.  Along the outer side were many windows, letting in the streams of light.  There were plants all around me, sitting in large, carved marble pots or elegant holders of bent metals.  This was a paradise to my eyes.  I affectionately reached out for one of the plants, stroking its leaf as I passed.  

            The path wove to the right, nearer to the inside garden, and the maid led us down a new hallway.  This one was open from one side, the other a plain wall.  I looked out over the courtyard in astonishment.  There was a stream that ran through it, leading to a small pond partially hidden by plants.  A stone walkway wove itself through the thick grasses and bushes.  There were a few stone benches set up under the shade of some trees.  

            "Amazing," Haldir whispered in my ear.  I nodded slowly.  

            Finally, the maid turned us loose, announcing we were now inside the family's private quarters (as if the rest of the house wasn't theirs).  Elrond was in the library, no doubt, if that is whom we came to speak with.  Glorfindel nodded and sauntered off in that direction.  

            "You two can have fun—clean fun, mind you—and look around for a bit.  I'll be just a few minutes.  And then we'll head over to get some dinner with the family."  He knocked on the door.  A deep rumbling voice came from inside.  Glorfindel carefully cracked open the door and left us alone in the hallway.  

            "Damn," Haldir said, now that we were alone.  "Damn, damn I've never seen a place like this."  He ran a hand through his hair.  I smiled at his amazement.  I knew that even my home, no hovel, was nothing in comparison to this, and it was dazzling to me.  My father was one for...lavish living.  Still, our way of life dimmed in comparison to this.  

            "I think that I would like to take a stroll in the gardens," I announced, hoping to make my getaway.  Haldir grinned.  

            "You go on, if you can behave yourself," he grinned, "I want to look around inside for a while.  I'll get you when Glorfindel's done."  He placed a quick kiss on my lips before letting me go my own way.  I almost dashed for the safety of the outside world.  

            I could see the sun, lower in the sky before but not yet set.  Around me birds chirped, singing their late songs.  I let out a long sigh and wrapped my arms around myself.  The sound of the creek, splashing across rocks and weaving its way through the courtyard, lulled me into a state of peace.  The rays of yellow light danced across the stone walkways.  Trees swayed in the gentle sea breeze, their long branches turning gently as if in time to some unknown song that only they sang.  When I was young, I pretended that these trees did have a language, their very own form of words that only they understood.  They whispered to each other in the daytime, sharing stories, reflecting on the way of life and on the humans around them.  Sometimes, I could almost hear a quick word or two between them.  

            Childhood.  

            That was a strange time, childhood.  Every day was a new experience, something fresh for me, an unwritten page in my book.  But those pages filled fast, and I found myself facing the harshness of reality all too soon.  Five years ago when... 

            "Wha?  What are you doing here?"  I whirled around, startled by the noise around me but still too engrossed in my memories to think clearly.  My foot caught on a break in the stones, and I felt my body slipping to the ground.  

            A pair of strong arms caught me, keeping me from hitting the ground below.  I looked up to see Aragorn, the one from before, his eyes wide in astonishment.  I let out a sliver of breath through my teeth.  

            "What are you doing here?" he repeated.  His brow furrowed, grey eyes narrowing.  I felt heat creeping into my cheeks suddenly, aware now that I half-sat with his arms supporting me, warm arms, gazing into his deep eyes, his strong face...

            "Oh, I..." I stammered.  I took a deep breath.  "I came here with my friend, Glorfindel, one of the hands on the farm, and I was only out taking a stroll here."  Aragorn flashed a good-natured smile.  

            "I understand," he responded.  "Are you all right after that fall?  You look a little red..."

            "I'm fine," I assured him, the previous comment only increasing my blush.  Of course, I was fine!  It was merely a little trip, that's all, and Aragorn was there to catch me when I did slip.  Yes, I was just fine, content, in fact...

            _Legolas, stop thinking like that.  _

"That's good.  So, you are friends with Glorfindel.  I've never seen you around here."  He lifted me to my feet, and I slowly stood on my own.  Aragorn brushed himself off.  

            "Well, I've never seen you, either," I countered, turning sharply away.  Anger flared inside of me, both at Aragorn and at myself, and my tongue was getting a bit too sharp for my liking.  Aragorn shrugged and shouldered past me to a bench where he plopped down.  I stood my ground.  "And I have often come to Elrond's home for many different occasions with my father."  

            "Then you would not have seen me; most of those times I am in the fields or forests here.  I'm not one to stick around then."  I shrugged, turning away from him.  "Those things bore me."  

            "I can understand that," I agreed, smiling to myself.  

            "So, Legolas—it is Legolas, isn't it?—I didn't think you would be one to fall like that.  You've proven quite clumsy, I must say," Aragorn noted, his voice suddenly much closer then it was before.  I whirled around to him a foot away from me.  I glared at him, crossing my arms.  

            "You only met me today and already pass judgment on me?  Then I do not have tolerance for you, for I cannot stand your kind.  I would have you know that I more graceful then you shall ever be."  

            "Then I am sorry," Aragorn responded coldly, sensing my own frigidness.  I looked to the sky above me.  There was not a cloud in sight, the type of clearness only achieved at the Oceanside.  The sun looked down upon me.  I blinked to clear my eyes before turning my attention to the trees around me.  

            "Legolas," Aragorn began.  He stopped and fumbled for words.  I waited patiently for him to speak.  

            "Legolas!" another voice called.  I turned around to see Haldir, waving to me from the archway that led to the family's private chambers.  Behind him was Glorfindel.  I glanced once at Aragorn before rushing away to Haldir.  

            "Maybe we can talk...later..." I heard Aragorn say quietly.  But Haldir had his arms around me again.  He gave me a warm kiss, and I snuggled closer to him before we left again for the inside of the house.  I forced a smile at seeing Haldir again.  He nuzzled my soft hair, whispering sweet words in my ear as we made our way to another section of the house.  

            As we crossed the arch to the wing of the house where we would eat, I thought I heard a faint sigh from Aragorn, but I did not turn around to check. 

***

            "It's nice to have you here," Elrond announced.  I looked up from my plate which I had been examining...somewhat.  Out of the corner of my eye, I cast glances beside me where Aragorn sat quietly.  Haldir sat on my other side.  "Glorfindel has been doing extra work, you see, and so for a bonus once a week, along with extra money, he receives a meal, courtesy of my house," he continued.  

            "Yes, well," Glorfindel corrected, "my work hasn't been that much.  The way you put it, sir, it sounds like I've done much more."  Glorfindel took a bite of meat to cover the stammer in his voice.  I was surprised to note that he had in fact a touch of red on his normally pale cheeks.  Was he...blushing?  Elrond smiled at him.  

            "How does your father fare, Legolas?" Elrond asked, changing the subject abruptly.  "I have not heard much from Thranduil these days."  I shrugged.  What was I to say to that?  My father never seemed to change...never.  

            "He is doing fine, as always," I finally responded politely.  "He has been busy, as of late, but other then that, I think that life treats him well."  Anger flared inside of me, the fire growing only because of the thought of my father.  Oh, yes, life treated him perfectly.  He never seemed to have a problem on him, not one, or at least, not one worth fretting over.  "I think..."

            "I am very sorry that I am late!" a sudden voice cried out.  Beside me, Aragorn went rigid.  Haldir stopped shoveling food into his mouth, and Glorfindel looked up from his plate.  I closed my mouth as a woman rounded the bend into the dining room.  Her face was flushed from running.  She smoothed down her skirt, smiled sweetly to us all, and walked casually to her seat.  

            "I am glad you decided to join us, Arwen," Elrond said coldly after a long silence.  Elladan whispered something to Elrohir, causing the latter twin to shake with controlled laughter.  Arwen smiled again, her white teeth shining.  

            "So am I, father," she replied.  "Hello Legolas; it is nice to see you again.  Oh, and hello Haldir." Contempt tainted her honey sweet voice.  

            I think that beside me, Haldir was gawking.  The last time he saw Arwen was two years ago before she quit school to be home schooled.  She rarely came to the island anymore, and in this time, she had grown quite beautiful.  Her long hair, falling to her back, was tied in a long braid now.  In the light of the chandelier above us her blue eyes shone.  She had fair skin and was built perfectly, with a thin frame and long limbs.  There was no way for someone to deny that she possessed outward beauty.  Of course, if one were attentive, they would notice I mentioned nothing of her disposition.  

            Elrond glowered at her once before taking a bite of his own meal.  

            The rest of the meal continued without any major problems.  Elrond dismissed the twins early in a rage after they did not cease their "quite comments to each other."  Arwen chattered away in her normal fashion, receiving many glares from Elrond, but she smiled those off, continuing in her talk without a pause.  Haldir kept relatively silent throughout the meal, and kept any gestures towards me as a gentle rub of my leg under the table.  Glorfindel said little, content to look anywhere but at Elrond.  I could see that he was embarrassed by something, and I suspected I knew what that something was.  I looked once at Elrond and could tell that he tried to avoid Glorfindel's glance also.  I grinned to myself.  

            "Well, we must be going," Haldir said as he leaned back in his chair.  He had just finished another slice of torte served for dessert.  Elrond shrugged and gave a small smile.  

            "I hope to see both of you back again soon, then."  Haldir rose, and I followed him from the hall, leaving through a back door that led outside.  The air was cool but not unpleasant, in fact quite a relief from the traditional heat of the seaside.  Haldir wrapped an arm around my waist as we made our way back to Glorfindel's cabin.  

            "Well, I would have never expected," Haldir said suddenly.  "I mean, what was with Glorfindel?"  I laughed and leaned on Haldir's shoulder.  He nuzzled the top of my head.  

            "Couldn't you tell?  He was embarrassed...to be in Elrond's presence.  Now mull over that for a while."  Haldir did, and he gasped as the answer came to him.  I chuckled.  "Now do you see?"  Haldir shook his head.  

            "But the years...doesn't Glorfindel care?"  

            "I don't think so.  If you might remember, he had watched Elrond for a while before.  This is the first time though that he looked thoroughly...nervous in Elrond's presence."  Haldir looked to the heavens, eyebrows raised.  "He's admired Elrond for years, yes, years now."  

            "Oh well!" Haldir sighed, throwing his hands into the air.  "I suppose if Glorfindel wants it, he can have it that way!"  I laughed again, and Haldir joined me.  We wove our way through the pasturelands, his arm around my waist, me pressed against him.  Despite our quarrel only this afternoon, I was quite content to be by his side.  He was warm, and his hands were tender, loving.  Haldir cared now, cared for me, cared for my love.  It was a rare moment to have this, rare to see Haldir abandoning his traditional thoughts.  

            I cherished every step we took, every breath.  This was the love I craved from Haldir, this tender affection, this sweet devotion, not his possessiveness, not his lust.  But all too soon, that moment ended.  We got in the car and sped away.  The island grew nearer, and in all too short of a time, Haldir stopped his car in front of my house.  

           "Goodnight," I said to Haldir, grabbing my books from the car.  Haldir reached for me and kissed me once more.  

            "My love," he whispered before driving away into the night.  I made my way up the flight of stairs to the deck of my house.  If I entered through the back door there was a chance that my father would not hear me, that the sound of the door opening would not betray my coming.  I set one bag down, fumbling with my keys before I found the one to the door.  

            It opened before I had a chance to try.  Thranduil stood in the doorway, glaring at me.  I swallowed my fear and went in.  

            "Stay here and sit down.  You can put your bags up later," Thranduil commanded.  I knew that I was in for it, then, in for yet another lecture.  My father did not use that tone lightly.  He saved it for only the right moment, as a prelude to a long lecture about my behavior.  I sat down on the couch.  

            "You were out with Haldir, weren't you?" Thranduil guessed.  "You did not call me to tell me that you would go somewhere other then home after school..."

            "I tried to call from Glorfindel's place, but the phone was busy," I snapped.  My father turned away from me, folding his hands behind his back.  "I did call though, but you were on the phone."  

            "It was for business, so that is no excuse that you can use.  I needed the phone, therefore placing the blame upon your shoulders that you did not contact me some other way."  My nostrils flared and I gripped the edge of my cushion.  But this was only the beginning of my father's routine.  If I let my anger get out of control now, the lecture to follow would only be more painful.  "But tell me, what were you doing at Glorfindel's home?"

            "I was there after school to be with my friends.  We did not do anything illegal.  We did not drink anything.  We did not act like delinquents the entire time," I ran down the list to save my father's breath.  He didn't have to ask.  "In fact, Elrond invited us to dinner at his mansion, so we ate there."

            "I expect you were respectful to him, as any man of your class should be."  I nodded.  "And Haldir contained himself?" I nodded again.  "And you did not act in a way that would somehow anger Elrond?" I nodded for a third time.  "But that cannot make up for the fact that you were gone!" Thranduil roared.  "I was worried about you, Legolas!  I fretted over you.  And even now I worry, for you have been gone too long to have stayed only at Elrond's estate.  Where else have you been?"

            "Nowhere," I responded coolly.  

            "Do not lie to me!" Thranduil threatened.  "I know you're lying, and that doesn't do any good.  Listen to me, son, and listen to me well.  I have expectations for you, do you understand?  You are falling off, getting involved with the wrong people, the trash of the world, partying, drinking, carousing with that boyfriend of yours and his friends.  I don't know what's happened to you, Legolas.  You used to be a good child, you used to call me, you used to think that I cared and wanted to know..."

            "I did call, goddammit!" I shouted.  Thranduil paused only momentarily.  

            "Shut up!" he roared.  "I know what you did and did not do!  No words from you will sway me.  I cannot have you act like trash.  You were never trash, but I fear that at the rate you are going, we might get there sooner then I want.  You have a good image with most people, Legolas, being my son, and I don't want that to change.  Now, get out of my sight!"  He pointed upstairs and sank into a chair, a hand over his face.  I stormed from the room.  

            "Easy home life, ha," I grumbled once behind the closed door to my room.  I fell back onto the couch on one wall, scattering some blankets and a few pillows.  "At least Glorfindel doesn't put up with that shit daily."  A good image, business, my son, it was always the same rant, no matter what the offense.  My father had expectations for me, and he expected me to fill those.  Of course, he took it upon himself to remind me of those responsibilities as long and loud as he could.  I was the son of a upstanding man.  I could not be seen in public with my friends.  I should not spend all of my time around Haldir.  I could not...I should not...my son...my son....

            "Fuck you, bastard!" I screamed silently.  I was already in enough trouble, and shouting that at the top of my lungs would not do me any good.  Instead, I grabbed a book from the shelf next to my bed and fell back on the couch.  There were two windows above me, moonlight shining through both of them.  I smiled at the sight, the clear stars glowing through the glass, the dark sky, tops of houses illuminated in the glow from streetlights.  It was so beautiful out tonight...

            ...but no doubt if I tried to step outside my father would bar the door, shove me back in my room, and keep a steady watch on me all night so I didn't escape again.  So, I contented myself with reading from the book in my hand, a sure fire way to escape from the world around me for now.  

            My eyelids grew heavy.  It wasn't late, but I was tired, tired of the world around me.  In sleep I could abandon my life and let the darkness roll over me in gentle waves.  I did that frequently, just slept, curled upon my couch (my bed was uncomfortable) while I left behind the waking world and deserted reality.  

            I closed my eyes and turned to my side, burying my face in the back of the couch.  I wrapped a blanket around me and fell into a restless sleep.  

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

            I would like to say now that this chappie went un-betaed (due to time reasons), so if you see any mistakes please tell me.  I'll try to fix them, and I will send it to my beta and post a betaed version soon, but for now, it is not!  So sorry!  

            Please review!  Oooooor...I could...hehehehehe, best not to confide what I'll do just yet.  But you know me!  Always will involve...character death!  So, review!  

{~.^}


	3. Beginnings

Chapter 3: Beginnings

** Bows frantically I am so sorry about not posting. May was a busy month. The youth orchestra I'm in had a concert, then I had a piano recital, then finals...everything was piled up and there was no time to write. Along with that, I've had some...other problems along the way that clogged my mind so I couldn't write! But I'm just making excuses! I am so sorry, really! Posting will go faster since it's summer though. More time to write!!!!!!!!!**

** So, I hope you enjoy this chappy. Its unbetaed, but I'll get you a revised, betaed copy soon. I just didn't want to postpone posting any longer!**

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"I don't care that this is a sketch! That's no excuse to make the arm _that_ short." I slipped the pencil from Aragorn's hand. He pouted and waited for me to erase the arm on his drawing a place a new one, draped across the railing of a deck. He grumbled and took the pencil from me.

"Now her arms look too wide," he complained, erasing my lines. I sighed and leaned back in my chair, hands behind my head.

"Well, at least it isn't three inches shorter then its supposed to be now." He shrugged his shoulders and hunched over his drawing. I picked my own pencil from behind my ear, starting once more to edit my picture. Around us, the students worked furiously. Éowyn sat across from me, her head bent over her paper, her hair creating a shield. Haldir was not here. He had skipped school again today, and it was only the second day of classes. I let out an exasperated sigh.

"Something wrong?" Aragorn asked. I shook my head, engrossed in my own work. "Well, I was just wondering. You sound put out today." Silence fell over us. I let my mind wander as my hand worked furiously.

_You know, Aragorn does look cute when he pouts. _

I shook my head furiously. "Fool!" I whispered. Aragorn looked up.

"Yes?" he said. I stared at him, my anger growing at my own stupidity. I glared at him.

"Just talking to myself," I said. Aragorn held up his hands.

"I didn't mean to offend you, you know." I gave him a quick smile.

"That's all right. I'm just a bit angry today." Thinking that would stop the conversation, I buried myself in my work. But Aragorn would not stop. He cleared his throat.

"Is it because of your boyfriend?" I think he saw my muscles tense, because Aragorn did not say anything after that. My heart fell. I did not know why, but I felt like apologizing to the sulking figure beside me, even if I had done nothing wrong. It was he, who pressed me for answers, so why did he mope over it?

Mr. Greyhame wandered around the class, inspecting our work over our shoulders. He carried with him a large staff, and every time he passed by a student who was getting out of line, he tapped them on the back with it. They quieted down afterwards.

I sighed and put down my pencil. My sketch was almost complete now, save adding extra details to my mother. I made to pick up the eraser, but another hand came to rest on mine. I looked up to see Aragorn reaching for it also. His gulped and lifted his hand away, making expansive hand movements now.

"You...you can...can have it," he managed to say. I snatched the eraser away, my blood boiling. That little blush creeping across his cheeks, the way he hid it with a frown...I couldn't think about that. I threw the eraser the short distance between us, and he took it without a word. And so the silence fell on us once more. Éowyn looked up occasionally from her paper, staring at us with a strange expression on her face. She measured the silence, shrugged, and paid us no attention afterwards. I let my mind fall into the patterns of my hand, the pencil moving back and forth, lines, sketching in the rest of my mother. Her long hair cascaded down her shoulders to rest delicately on her breasts. She had a small smile on her face, the same smile, according to my father, that I sometimes give the world, that small of politeness. Her green dress shone in some unknown light, probably from the full moon outside. Thranduil said that she loved to stand under the full moon and sing softly to herself, serenading the air around her with her honey-sweet voice. But I could not remember those times. By the time I was born she had changed from the angel under moonlight.

Mr. Greyhame hit his staff upon the tile floor to gather the class's attention.

"Well, class is dismissed for now," Mr. Greyhame announced. I set down my pencil and carried my work to the counter. "Hurry now, all of you. Ah, Legolas, that is beautiful work, if you do not mind me saying," he said as he picked up my drawing. He looked at me with pitying eyes and smiled. "Yes, your mother..." his voice trailed off into silence. I shrugged my shoulders and exited the room.

"What do you have next?" Aragorn asked. I was about to answer when a high-pitched cry halted our conversation.

"Aragorn, Aragorn, where are you?" a girl called. She ran through the hallways as best she could, holding on to the edges of her short skirt and stumbling in her heeled shoes. Aragorn cringed and visibly cowered behind me. "Oh, there you are! I've been looking all over for you." She took his arm, the smile on her face breaking through the layers of make-up.

"Hello, Arwen," Aragorn said. He turned back to me with a beseeching look upon his face. "I'm glad to see you now." Arwen embraced him, her long legs pressed against him in a way that made my stomach churn. Aragorn attempted to dislodged himself from the girl, arms thrown around him, but Arwen held him in a death-grip. She kissed him on the cheek.

"I'm so glad I could find you. Last night you were so quiet and you wouldn't let me talk to you..." Aragorn put an arm around her shoulder as she pried herself from him. She grinned. My fists clenched and unclenched at the sight of her, pressing her pink clad form against Aragorn. I had known of their little relationship, but it never entered into my thoughts when I conversed with Aragorn. He was polite, almost painfully quiet, and yet, not in a bad way, and one of the few people that did not hate me at first glance, yet here he was, with the woman around his waist that despised my existence more then any other. I watched them round the corner before stalking off in the other direction.

"Hey, hey Legolas!" Glorfindel cried. He caught up to me, panting. The chains around his waist jingled as he came to a halt. "You seen Haldir lately?" he asked. I shrugged and turned away from him.

"He's not at school today," I replied. Glorfindel nodded. He fell into step beside me as I made my way along the long hall. It was my free period now, and I meandered to my locker to drop off my books. I listened to Glorfindel's footfalls, one of the few ways to gauge his mood. He seemed pleased enough with himself, the way that he did not drag his black-clad feet along the ground.

"So, what went right for you today?" I asked. Glorfindel looked down at me, surprised. He coughed, a small blush creeping upon his almost white cheeks. I chuckled. There was only one thing in the world that could make Glorfindel blush.

"Oh, nothing," he stammered. I shrugged again.

"If that answer pleases you." Glorfindel let out a bit of air through his clenched teeth. I opened my locker, threw in the books, and slammed it shut. But as I closed it, a small slip of paper drifted down from it. Glorfindel reached out and caught it.

"So, what's this? 'Sorry?' What's that supposed to mean?" I snatched the paper from Glorfindel. The handwriting was unfamiliar, very neat and orderly. And yes, the only word on there was "sorry." No explanation, no name, nothing, simply that one word printed in dark blue ink. "So, is there something you're not telling us?" he said with a sneer. I ripped the paper in half, tossing it behind my shoulder.

"Dunno where it came from. Come on, let's get some fresh air." I walked the rest of the way down the corridor to the exit. The swinging door clicked as I pressed it open, and I let the warm ocean air cover me. Glorfindel ran to catch up, and under his footsteps I heard the soft rustling of the note as it drifted down the hallway.

I don't think there was ever a time afterwards when that note did not come back to my mind. The last note I found pinned inside my locker was from Haldir, one asking me to "meet him under the shade of the oaks." And there he confessed his love to me. But Haldir had not resorted to notes afterwards; if he was sick, he would call me up, faking as my father, then give his excuse as to why he wasn't at school. And "sorry" was not a word in his common vocabulary.

It would be a long while until I pieced that note in with all of the other parts of the puzzle around me, but no matter if I didn't know whom it was from, I could not get it out of my head. Dark blue ink, beautiful handwriting, the whiteness of the paper, the way the "r's" curled around each other, entwined...I would wake to see it, close my eyes and see it. And every time my mind drifted back to its mysterious author.

Glorfindel and I wandered the campus for a while before entering the cafeteria. We slipped some food from the vending machines, sneaking outside to eat it in the shadows of the building. Neither of us said much to each other; there wasn't much to say. Without Haldir around, I had no real place to them. And, Glorfindel was in his own little world at the time, absorbed in thoughts I could not interpret. Sometimes, he let out a laugh, grinning at some memory, but all I gave him was a questioning look. He shook me off, so I took it as a time to ignore him.

Near the end of the free period, I heard voices, laughter, the shrill laughter of a woman and the chuckles of a man. Arwen and Aragorn walked in our direction, Arwen wrapped around Aragorn's arm. Aragorn did not appear to hate her attention as much as before, one hand snaking around her waist slowly. Arwen giggled at some joke, staring at Aragorn with fake admiration. She pressed herself against him, batting her long lashes. They passed by us and into the cafeteria. I tried to make myself inconspicuous, but Aragorn caught sight of me. He smiled, inclining his head in greeting. I did not move to acknowledge his presence.

The last hours of school drug by. I sat through an exceptionally long math class, doodling small pictures of people on my notes page. Sometimes, I would only draw an eye, and beside it write the word "sorry," just as it was done upon my note. And I drew one sketch of Haldir, sitting on a windowsill, looking out across a tree spotted landscape. His cold eyes looked so sad in the drawing I could not help but run my hands along it. He could love; I knew that. I wondered how he fared, for even with his fanatical possessiveness, he was my lover, and one that I did love with all of my heart (though not with my body). I made a mental note to drop by his place on the way home then. Finally, the bell tolled. I ripped the sheet of doodles in half, tucking one half into my math book and the other in my pocket; Haldir loved to see my drawings, and it would of good use in patching up the little holes if I showed him a drawing of himself. I hurried from the room. The rest of the day was short in comparison, and finally the final bell called us away from the classrooms and into freedom.

On the way out of the building, I met Faramir and Éowyn. They were happily making out behind Faramir's car, and Glorfindel leaned on the other side, avoiding them. But they stopped when they saw me. Faramir waved, lifting himself from Éowyn who had her back to the car and was slipping slowly to the ground, losing some of her outer layers of clothing in the process. Glorfindel was pleased to have a release from standing there and rushed towards me. Éowyn straightened herself before slipping into her car. She and Faramir kissed once more before she drove away.

"She couldn't give you a lift?" I asked. Faramir shrugged. He shoved his hands in his pockets and let out a sigh.

"Nope; her house is on the other side of the island, and she has homework to do. God, why'd she do that?" Glorfindel punched Faramir's arm.

"See? Having a good-girl girlfriend isn't as nice as it seems..." Faramir glared at Glorfindel, and the two would have most likely started into a new argument had a car not honked beside us. Glorfindel turned, and his face broke into a smile.

"Well, looks like I have a ride," he said. He grabbed his books, grinning all the while. The window on the car rolled down to reveal Elrond. He nodded to me, then to Faramir, while Glorfindel threw his things in.

"Hello, boys. Would either of you like a ride home? I do believe there is room." Faramir shook his head, more to clear the haze from his eyes then anything, and I chuckled, waving him off.

"You go on, sir. I will walk." He shrugged and rolled up the window again. Through the dark tinted glass I could barely discern Glorfindel and Elrond having a more then friendly greeting, but before I could speculate, they were gone.

"Nice...car," Faramir breathed. I brushed past him and down the street towards my own home. Faramir ran to catch up. "You can wait, you know?" he reminded me. I looked up. Faramir was tall, at least three inches taller then I was, and I would not have been surprised if he grew more. Boromir, a year older, was taller still, and Faramir would no doubt grow to that height.

"Well, seeing Elrond and Glorfindel like that was quite a surprise. In a way, I suppose..." Faramir's voice trailed off. He skipped a few steps ahead of me and waved a hand in my face. "Are you even listening to me? Without Haldir here, I can't get you to say a word!" I looked up.

"I was thinking," was my terse response. He held up his hands and fell back in line. "But yes, I did hear you, and no, it's not that surprising. Glorfindel's been giving Elrond eyes for years now. And the same with Elrond. It was only now that they actually paid each other attention, since Glorfindel's eighteen and all. No longer any legal barriers to outsmart." Faramir laughed.

"Well, gotta go! Don't zone out or anythin' on the way home; Haldir would have my head if something happened to you!" He waved to me before running down his own street. I sighed. He was not usually as cheerful as now. But something about being around Éowyn always made him happier, as if she was a light in the darkness of his life. Whenever they were apart for more then eight hours, he retreated to the safety of his own mind. Oh well. I shrugged it off, other problems assaulting me as I found myself standing in front of Haldir's home. The white steps creaked under my feet as I made my way up the porch. I knocked on the ornate door.

"Hello?" a woman opened it a crack. It was Galadriel, Haldir's foster mother. A strand of blond hair fell in front of her pale face. She flashed a smile at me and swung the door wide. Even I felt my stomach churning at the sight of her: tall, thin, with a long floor-length skirt pooling around her bare feet and a thin white top adorning her, her wavy hair let long to fall past her waist. "I suppose you have come seeking tidings of Haldir. Please, enter, and seat yourself. There is a chance that he still slumbers; yet I will awaken him if I see it fit." I stepped over the threshold, and in a flurry of cloth, she was gone, down the back hall to Haldir's dark room. I sat down on one of the couches in the front room, waiting.

Before long I heard the soft patter of Galadriel's feet. She smiled to me before departing towards the kitchen, where I could smell enticing scents of food. And behind her was Haldir. He had managed to slip on a pair of pants, but his hair was a mess and there were bags under his eyes.

"Hey," he said, plopping down beside me. Haldir gave me a greeting kiss before settling to wrap an arm around my waist. "Sorry I wasn't at school..."

"I'd like to hear your reason," I retorted. He sighed and held me close to him, his messy hair tickling my face. "It's only the second day of school and you're already skipping?!"

"I'm sorry, I really am. I wasn't feeling good and needed some extra rest today, that's all." He held my face in his hand, looking into my eyes. I glared back at him. "And you don't look so good either. Something the matter?"

"Just you," I grumbled. He laughed and pulled me on his lap.

"But aren't I always a problem?" He traced lines along my thighs, looking at me with thirsty eyes. "I missed you today, lover-boy. So, how was school? Lonely without me?" I moved his hands away.

"I'd watch yourself, Haldir. You're already walking on thin ice, and not just with me. Many of the teachers were talking about your early disappearance. Listen, I wouldn't make things any worse. Come to school tomorrow, like you promised..."

"Oh shut up!" he said. "I never promised you a damn thing. I was sick; can't you understand that? I thought you had some mind in that head of yours, but maybe it's only good for kissing." I yanked free of his grasp, at least momentarily. But he had me again; this time pinned on the couch. "Listen, I won't take that from you, got it? I was _sick!_ Can't you trust me?" My face fell. I knew a losing battle when I saw one, and now was not the time to fight him.

"I'm sorry, Haldir. You do look a bit sickly, today. It was my fault." I craned my neck forward and gave him a long kiss, while my hands wandered his body, eliciting soft moans from him.

"I take that back. You are good for something," he whispered. He reached down to me, but before more could happen, the door creaked open. Haldir shot away from me, settling himself on the other side of the couch, and in came Galadriel's husband, Celeborn.

"Well, hello Legolas. It is nice to see you again. How's your father doing, by the way?"

"Fine, as usual, sir," I answered the tradition question with my traditional answer. "Sometimes business gets the best of him, but I do believe that he is doing better nowadays." Celeborn laughed.

"And it looks like you, Haldir, are doing better yourself. That's good. I'm going to change, and after that, Galadriel and I will be spending some time together. I expect you two to behave yourselves." He glared at Haldir before leaving us in peace.

"Behave, ha," Haldir said. He leaned over me again. "Now where were we?" I held up my hand.

"Not here. Please, Haldir, I don't feel in the mood right now."

"According to you, you're never in the mood," he groaned, sitting back. I snuggled next to him, resting my head on his shoulder. "But you are a good cuddler," he said, rubbing my arm, though his hand slowly worked its way back to my leg.

"Ah, Haldir, I have a picture for you," I said, breaking the silence. I pulled the folded piece of paper from my pocket and presented it to Haldir. He grinned. "Another product of math class." I grinned as he studied it. "I love this. Have to put it with all the rest, my dear little lover-boy artist." He nuzzled my neck, but I put distance between us.

"Um, Haldir?" I said. "I think I need to leave now. My father's expecting me home soon. I'm so sorry about this." Haldir shrugged. He gave me one farewell kiss before standing and letting me free. I almost ran to the door and down the stairs from his porch to the gravel driveway.

Oh, why did Haldir always have to do that? I attempted to show him compassion and friendship, and all he took it for was a chance to fuck me! I stared down the street. There was my house, looming over the others, calling for me, but to my right was also the ocean, the sloshing waves, the smell of the salt water. No, home would not be a safe place to return to. The ocean it was then.

The beach was not empty but still held very few people. I stepped off the boardwalk across the dunes and onto the soft sand. The waves rushed back and forth in their never-ending sequence, always the same, back and forth, rush, pull, the roar drowning out most other noise. Gulls swooped and dove, skimming over the water. Sometimes a screech would overpower the sound of the waves. I meandered along the shoreline. Waves splashed on my feet, soaking through my shoes. Back and forth, back and forth.

The beach was my spot, my place where I went to hide from life. Sure, Haldir and I came here during the summer, swimming in the mid-morning tides, laughing, joking, but we never walked and admired the scenery, never took in the world silently with each other. That was my time, my world to envision. I could empty my thoughts on those pounding waves and watch the water whisk them away, and in their place would come fresh water, pure water for me to see.

My walk took me closer to the beach's long boardwalk, not one that led across the dunes but the one that stretched out to the ocean. I could see people standing upon it, happily talking to each other, admiring the sights of the ocean, but that boardwalk seemed so empty. I walked beneath the tangle of old wooden pillars, oh so slowly, and crept up the stairs to it. Afternoon sunlight covered the world around me, painting everything in gold, even the water. I inhaled deeply. After living by the ocean for ten years of my life, I could never tire of that scent, salty fresh air, tinted with the smell of fish, and humans, sometimes the gulls that forever populated the beaches, but always the salt, the water. When I closed my eyes, all that was, was that one breath, that one smell, the salt, swimming in my lungs, pumping through my veins; there was no Haldir, no school, no father tapping his foot and awaiting my arrival home, no letter, no Aragorn, no Arwen, no pressures. There was nothing but the ocean and my body.

But every moment fades. I turned from the ocean, holding up my hand in farewell, and left for the dusty roads of this small beachside town on a small island off the coast of North Carolina and headed towards my home, my father, and my life.

** Well, there's chapter 3. Thanks so much to the people who are trudging along with this story and are leaving reviews! I'm swamped right now, trying to catch up on my posting on my two other fics, while keeping up my original fiction writing, so I need inspiration.**

** Oh, and if you have any ideas as to what I should do with this fic (or any of my other stories, for that matter), tell me in the review. I'll consider putting them in somewhere, if I can find a place.**


	4. Tides

I'm so sorry about the delay, I really am! Gomen! Gomen! Starting high school has been a jolt for me right now, but it's getting better! And not only that, but my old beta, Amy, who betaed this story has stopped, so I had to switch it over to Eilonwy4!

But at least there's this chapter, and the next one should be coming soon! Sooner then this one was, at least!

Chapter 4: Tides

"During depression, a person may lose interest in their hobbies, become listless to the world around them..." I grumbled and shut off the radio, the commercial dragging on my nerves. Not only was that a lie, but what could medicine do for someone who was depressed? Anyway, that depression was fake; it wasn't because a person had problems in their life but because they were screwed up in the head and _thought,_ they had problems.

The real ones with problems would probably not say anything about them.

I stared at the drawing in front of me. It was a mess, a total mess, one only worthy for the small paper shredder beside me. I took one last look at it, the forlorn figure upon it staring helplessly at the swirling rain clouds around it, before slipping it through the machine. All that came out were graphite covered slips of paper. They slid through my fingers and into the trash, catching on the breeze from my fan. The black stained my pale fingers, long fingers. And one piece caught on my bracelet.

The small spikes mocked me as I stared at the piece of black metal. I had tried before to remove it, but nothing I did could get it off my arm. Haldir had noticed some of my pathetic attempts and sneered at me, pulling me into a thirsting kiss.

"No way to move it, just like my love, dear prince of mine."

I reached for a knife sitting at the top of my desk. It had a slender handle, light colored wood, with a long, milky blade. There were inscriptions on the blade, but I never took much time to study them, only if I happened to draw that knife. I twirled it between my fingers. I had taught myself how to knife fight when I was young. Often times I would spend hours on Elrond's farm sparring with the twins. And Haldir would join us. When we were only children, Haldir had a good heart. And I suppose I had a good heart also. Or maybe that was just innocence. But I could smile without forcing it, laugh, and not spend most waking moments fighting my urge to scream and kill something (namely Haldir) or fall to the ground sobbing. Elrohir and Elladan were about the same, pranksters from the start.

I set the knife between two of the spikes, applying pressure slowly. I had tried this in the past, but maybe this time, now that I was stronger, it would work. Maybe my sheer force of will would be enough to bend it and break it in two, freeing me.

The knife slipped off the metal and onto my arm. I cursed and pulled it away. Blood pooled on the edges of a cut, deep but not long. It slipped down my arm to drip on a piece of paper below me. Then another drip, then another. It stung, but pain was nothing to me now. I watched, hypnotized, as the little beads collected on the paper, running into each other, seeping through to my desk.

"Legolas, a friend is here to see you! I believe its Elrond's foster son, but I'm not sure!" My father's voice barely penetrated my thoughts. I looked up from the paper but shrugged. My door's locked; there's no way he can get in, right?

Someone knocked.

"Hello, Legolas? It's Aragorn. You father said that you wouldn't answer the phone when I called..." He knocked again. I stared at the large splotches of red, breaking apart the paper. Maybe if I lifted it, the red would run off, blood off a bleeding paper, a paper heart, like my own.

He did call, didn't he? And I didn't answer him. So here Aragorn was, knocking at my door. Well, he can't get in.

"Legolas, what's wrong? Sometimes, you appear pleased enough with life, but...but that's all a mask, isn't it? Legolas let me in." Who did this Aragorn think he was? He had only known me for a week but wanted to help me fix my problems. Well, if you had a chainsaw and a steady hand I think that you could help...

"Go to hell," I responded finally. "I don't want you here. So leave me alone. You have no business in my life." I heard Aragorn let out a sigh before shuffling away.

I felt a touch of remorse at hearing his feet shuffle down the stairs. Should I have turned him away with such a cold shoulder? Aragorn sounded....sincere. But no, there was no room in my pathetic life for anyone but me. I pulled my arm from the paper, knowing that any more and it would stain the desk. Then my father would find out and send me to a shrink. My last experience with one was that she was young, female, and inattentive to my problems and spent most of the time flirting with me. Didn't want to have that happen again.

"Yes, just let Aragorn go to hell," I whispered. "What does he matter? What will he do? My life's set." I will graduate in two years, and then Haldir and I will find a place to live, probably not even get a chance to go to college. I'll paint and Haldir will work odd jobs, come home, fuck me, then go back to work while I paint and slowly let my sorrows build inside.

And one day he'd come home to see me dangling from the ceiling fan, a note beside me. And then he would learn his mistakes.

"Legolas, someone else is here for you!" Thranduil called. "It's Faramir." I cursed. The paper I bled on soon found its way to the shredder, joining the other slips in my wastebasket. Faramir's feet pounded up the stairs. There was a pause before the door clicked and he entered, a lock pick swinging from his fingers.

"You need better locks," he announced. I shrugged, hiding my wounded arm. "Well, anyway, Éowyn, Glorfindel and I were down at the boardwalk and decided we needed to pull you from your little cave. So will you come?" I shrugged again. I knew I should probably join them, to keep up appearances.

"Sure," I said. Faramir grinned.

"Then we'll be down there waiting for ya. Should I lock your door back, or will it do any good?" I threw an eraser at his head as he slipped from the room and casually made his way back to the ocean.

Well, now I had to get up, change clothes, and drag my feet to the pier. Haldir wouldn't be there, at least, since he's working his shift at the shop today. Why not?

So I slipped into new clothing, tied my hair back in a ponytail, and ran down the stairs. My father looked up from his work only briefly before sighing at me. Maybe it was my clothing, the loose green shorts and blackish-silver tank top, chains, necklaces, and of course, my bracelet. I slammed the door behind me and didn't slow to a walk until I was halfway down the street.

The island was set up quite simply, with two main roads, and streets joining between them. One faced the oceanfront, and the other the Inter Coastal Waterway. My house was on the marsh side, near to the bridge that joined the mainland with the island. And only two streets down from my house was the street that crossed towards the pier. Haldir lived along that road, in one of the split houses. On the other side of his house were some of Galadriel's friends. I passed that house by without even looking.

Faramir, Éowyn, and Glorfindel were waiting at the base of the pier. Faramir waved, and I quickened my pace to meet up with them.

"Took you long enough," Glorfindel said. I shrugged. The four of us started down the pier, Éowyn clinging to Faramir, Glorfindel alone in the middle, with me, sulking to the outside. My wrist still tingled from where the blood was drying.

"So, found more about that letter, note, whatever?" Glorfindel asked. I closed my eyes, cursing him.

"Letter?" Éowyn asked. My foot slid out, and my boot dealt a heavy blow to Glorfindel's shin, though it escaped Éowyn's sight. Glorfindel breathed "fuck," favoring his leg.

"Just something in my locker, said "sorry" on it," I said. Éowyn grinned.

"From Haldir?" she asked. I shook my head.

"Nope, he doesn't sink that low. I don't care 'bout it, truthfully." Éowyn raised her eyebrows, but Faramir squeezed her arm, and she didn't say more. Glorfindel, though, hadn't learned his lesson.

"Get those often, then, if you take it so causally?" I glared at him.

"No," I retorted. "Once from Haldir, and that was it." But before I could elaborate more, I heard a groan from Éowyn.

"Lookie," she said, pointing down the pier. I turned my head to see none other then Arwen, sitting on one of the benches, her arms draped around Aragorn. Aragorn looked a bit nervous, at least I thought so, and repulsed. Elrohir and Elladan were leaning on the railing, not far away, snickering to themselves. Aragorn joined them before punching Elrohir's arm, glaring. Elrohir said something, whining, no doubt, and cradled the arm. Elladan held him like a concerned mother.

"You still gawking at Aragorn?" Faramir asked, light enough, but you could tell he was cold. Éowyn glared at him.

"No, I am not. I was just amazed at that Arwen girl," she said. Arwen was now trying to get into Aragorn's lap, but Aragorn shoved her off. So, she contented herself with pressing as close to his body as possible. My blood boiled at the sight of Aragorn. He had just come to my door, hadn't he? So what was he doing here, with Arwen? And...where were these thoughts coming from? I shook my head. So what if he sounded like an honest guy then, a bastard, sure, but maybe concerned, not sitting here with that little slut draped over him. He looked my way.

Why did I stop then? Why did I hesitate, falter in my step at the look in his eyes? They were filled with so much hurt, sorrow, at the sight of me and my impassive stare. Then his grey eyes turned dark, cold, as his lids narrowed and he glared at me. I blinked, to clear that image of him and hurried to keep up with my friends.

As we passed, Arwen looked up from where she had been nuzzling Aragorn's neck. She glared at us with her "angelic eyes," "pure eyes," but mostly at me, and returning to massaging Aragorn.

"Don't cha think it's a little early to be running your business, whore?" Éowyn breathed so only we could hear her. Glorfindel and Faramir laughed, but I said nothing, instead drifting away from them. The ocean had me again. The pier was now above the waves, not the sand, and I had to watch those green-blue waves, crested with foam, to stare as they broke on the shore and sucked the sand back with them, eroding the beach, dragging everything in its reach and power with it to the salty depths. Out farther out there were a few shrimp boats, trailed by sea birds, their nets dangling from the beams on each side. The beams swayed from side to side, bringing with them the catch. If I peered close enough, I imagined the men, waiting for the "big one" to come in. And from the pier I could see all the way down the beach, to where it curved off and the rock jetty separated it from a bay leading to the marshes.

"You okay?" Éowyn asked. I looked down at her, her small face framed by her wavy hair, eyes studying me with earnest concern. And not for the first time I thought about what a good person she was. I mean, unlike the rest of us, she had a heart, a dark one, sure, but a heart all the same.

"Yeah," I said, trying to hide the sorrow in my voice. But her brow furrowed. It was as if she was our mother, Faramir's lover, yes, but our caretaker. Like when Glorfindel tried to kill himself two years ago. Éowyn persuaded him out of it. Probably because she had already tried it before. It was common knowledge that before she met Faramir, she had a death wish herself, and had tried on many occasions to end her own life. I guess Faramir pulled her from that slump. Now she was fretting over me.

"Well, then come join us. Don't just stand there or we'll think you want to throw yourself in. And you'd better not do that. Haldir would blame us for it." Haldir, Haldir, Haldir! It's always Haldir! Always what Haldir would do if I died, if I got hurt, if something happened to me!

"'Neyway, that isn't a good spot to do it. Trust me; I've mused over this before." She laughed to herself, quietly, in the manner she did when only she saw the humor in something, her own private joke that even Faramir might not understand. But her eyes shone, and there was a smile on her small lips, so I followed her. I wanted to be alone, yes, but if I didn't Éowyn would lose that smile, turn into another Éowyn who would drag me forcibly back to the group.

We walked the rest of the way, to the end of the pier. I set my elbows on the boards, feeling the slight tremors running through the boards from the wind. I closed my eyes and let the sea breeze tickle my face, soft, gentle. It was hands, brushing by me, a lover's caress, a silent gesture of true feelings. So unlike Haldir that I let out a sigh. It even felt like tears were grouping at the edges of my eyes, but that was an illusion. It had been years since I last cried. Nope, no tears today, they dried from my eyes.

My friends were chattering about something, probably school, and life, and anything really. I wanted to join them, but I could not tear myself from the ocean. No, that was my place. Those people I called my companions, yes, and they were the closest things I had to friends, but the ocean was my lover, a far deeper bond. So I let the breeze fill my ears and the waves breaking and the gulls around me.

"Hey, Legolas, you gonna come ride Arod anytime this weekend?" Glorfindel asked. I turned to see him beside me. He gave me one of his rare smiles, a little turn of his mouth. "Come on, you haven't been down in a while."

"Yeah, I will," I said. "Tomorrow, though, sometime in the morning." Glorfindel nodded.

"I'll come by and see ya, then." I looked behind me. Faramir and Éowyn had gotten themselves into a tickling match, and Éowyn was barely controlling her laughter. I smirked. With a nod of my head, Glorfindel and I let them be, making sure to make our departure quiet.

----------

Miraculously, I avoided Haldir for the rest of the day, feigning to be sick with a cold when he called. He shrugged and said that sucked, and if I didn't get my ass over to his house he would find someone else to entertain him. Sharp retorts tingled upon my lips, but I just chuckled and hung up; words would get me far harsher of a punishment.

Now, Sunday had dawned bright, the sun clear on the hot pavement. Heat seeped through my windows and bathed my room, rousing me from my slumber. I groaned and rolled off the couch, where I had crashed that night. I pulled myself from the tangle of sheets and out of the door; my clothes from yesterday still hung from my body.

Thranduil was still sleeping when I made it into the kitchen. I opened the refrigerator, dug out a can of Coke, and wrote him a note explaining where I was. Sipping on my drink, I closed the door behind me and started down the road. Unfortunately, for me, my father had decided that a horse was enough for me to have, so I was still without a car. Anyway, as he put it, "Haldir drives you everywhere you can't walk," which was a point I could not argue. But today I was left alone to make the thirty minute trek.

I grinned.

Thirty minutes breezed by to me then. It was a short span of time while I was alone, not hours like now, the tick of the clock for each breath of life I wasted. There were no tears. In fact, I sang to myself as I walked, something I did quite often back then. Everyone praised my voice, saying that it was clear, beautiful, but with an edge when I wished for it to be. It has been a while since then, I suppose. Singing is something for times long past. But that day I sang, crossing the bridge to the mainland and meandering along deserted roads to Elrond's estate.

I went first to Glorfindel's cabin, just to see if he was home. It was empty, and there was note on it that read: "Went for dinner at main house." I sniggered. So, he went for dinner _last _night and just happened to stay all evening. I turned my sights to the barn, not far off. There, I found the twins lurking against one wall. Elrohir nodded to me.

"Legolas!" Elladan called. I smiled as they flanked me on either side. "Haven't talked to you for a while. The only class you're in with us is art, and then you're always busy keeping ole' Aragorn under control." He and Elrohir laughed. I looked ahead.

"So, how's Arod this morning?" I asked. Elladan shrugged.

"A bastard, but that's how he always is, so there's no problems there. He's been getting pretty fat, since you haven't ridden in a while." I laughed; Arod was standing in the pasture, his eyes fixed upon me. Elrohir backed away with a mock bow.

"And so comes the king, to ride into battle," he said. I smiled and shook my head.

"Not a king yet, but I shall be...king to..."

"King of a king!" I glowered, and Elladan made a bow much the same as his twin's. "You know you wouldn't have a queen. The world knows you would not have a queen. So, you would be a king...and a king!" He and Elrohir burst into laughter and snuck away, creeping around the edge of the barn and back to the house.

I suppose it was around three years ago I met Arod. I had been looking for a horse to claim my own, searching through Elrond's herds, and stumbled upon Arod. All I ever heard was, "No, not that horse...he's dangerous...his last rider died, and even he had trouble with Arod..." but I accepted the horse, determined to win him over. It did not take long for Arod to adjust to me, or me to him.

It was always interesting to ride him though. He spooked at the smallest thing, and the approach of another human made him antsy. Which was why we rode alone in a field at the edge of Elrond's property, to not run the risk of any other's catching sight of us. But as we approached the field, crossing out of the borders of the pastureland, Arod began to get jumpy. I felt nothing wrong, but the horse sensed something, nestled among the long grasses of the overgrown field. We were near the edge of the arena (the circular area where someone had actually bothered to cut the grass) when Arod gave a neigh and reared. There was a shout below him, and I started, clinging to him as I regained my balance.

"Watch where you're going!" someone shouted from the grass. A head popped out from the strands. Grey eyes studied me, the eyebrows scrunched together and the mouth in the closest thing I ever saw to a pout on Aragorn's face. Arod backed away, his ears flat.

"Well, I didn't see you," I said. A laugh was forming at the sight of his face, and I let out a chuckle. Aragorn's frown deepened.

"What's funny?" he asked. He stood up, and I dismounted from Arod before he could spook again. I released him, and Arod gave a whinny and cantered away. "Hey, you're horse's running off."

"He'll come back," I said. Aragorn shrugged and brushed himself off. He reached into the grass and pulled a sword from the leaves. "What's that?" I asked, looking at the blade. It shone in the sunlight, and the hilt was a deep grey, wrapped in worn leather, a hole at the pommel shaped in a teardrop.

"My sword," Aragorn responded. "I was practicing before you came."

"So you swordfight?"

"A little." Silence fell between us, and Aragorn turned around nervously to hide his embarrassment. To my own surprise, I felt heat on my cheeks, but at the time I believed it to be anger. Anger at what Aragorn did yesterday, coming out so boldly to ask my problems, anger that he ruined my outing with Arod. But at the same time a smile crept on my face, and I walked around him.

"I don't fancy myself bad with knives," I said. "I don't have any on me, but if I did, we could..." Aragorn reached behind him and flicked out a long knife, handing it hilt first to me.

"Is that a challenge?" he asked, smirking. I shook my head, turning the knife to him.

"I don't fight without double knives."

"You don't dance without two?" he whispered. I furrowed my brow, but he shrugged it off, turning away. He walked to the center arena, dropping his sword at its edge. "So, do you come here often?"

"More then once a week, if I can manage. But since it was the first week of school, this was the first day." My voice dripped with hints for him to beat it, but Aragorn sat down on the grass, casual, without making a scene of his feigned oblivion. "And I can only ride Arod here; he spooks too easily anywhere else."

"Why doesn't he spook with you?" Aragorn asked. "Did something just click?"

"I suppose. I really don't know. It just happened one day, and ever since it's been like that. Maybe I was the first person that wasn't terrified of him." I laughed. "Stupidly, probably. He almost killed me that first day."

"I remember that," Aragorn said. "Someone came down to look at horses, and before I knew what had happened, the twins were gone, running off to take care of an emergency with Arod. I...I think I was inside then."

"You mean you were around then?" I said. I could not remember ever seeing Aragorn before the first day of school, though I had known him to be Elrond's foster son. But he had been around a whole five years ago.

Aragorn made no response. Suddenly he turned around and snapped his fingers.

"It just clicked!" he said. I jumped back, and Aragorn collapsed into fits of laughter. It spread to me, and I laughed beside him, unable to see the humor but needing to laugh all the same. We stumbled around, clutching our sides, before falling to the ground.

"So, what was that for?" I gasped. Aragorn fell back, to the ground.

"I dunno. But you said with you and Arod it just 'clicked.'" Again he snapped, and a giggle escaped my lips.

"I didn't know you could laugh like that," Aragorn whispered. I stopped, frowned.

"What about it?" I retorted, my shields returning, now that I was conscious they collapsed. Aragorn raised his eyebrows. "So I laughed. I've laughed before."

"Not lately, I don't remember it. And you don't talk this much at school either."

"Haldir does enough talking," I said. Aragorn studied the land away from us, watching as the flat grass disappeared to the twisted trees of the marshes on the waterway. I looked down and saw his hands tightening on the grass, the knuckles white.

"I guess he does," Aragorn said. "So, you love him, Haldir? You two look so close." I searched for some excuse to escape, but none came to me. When I made no response, Aragorn faced me. His face then was a mask of...something...but I couldn't search for any known emotions. It swirled around itself, and I opened my mouth to speak the truth.

There was a crunch in the grass, and both of us started. Arod gave a low whinny and approached us. He nuzzled the top of my head as he often did, his eyes darting back to Aragorn, but he had approached both of us. I reached out to him, expecting him to start again, but he stood still.

"Arod," I said. Aragorn dared not move, watching the horse with wary eyes. "He came up to you." Sensing Aragorn's presence, Arod turned and breathed down Aragorn's neck. Aragorn reached one hand out, stroking Arod's neck. He stared but did not flee, letting Aragorn stroke his soft neck. I shook my head.

"Well," Aragorn whispered. "This is a surprise."

"He trusts you. That's all. Maybe...he trusts you." Arod shook out his mane and studied me with his deep eyes, those large eyes he only showed to me, dark, innocent. Aragorn chuckled and rested his head on Arod's nose.

"He really is beautiful," Aragorn said, but...as he said it, he watched me. "I'm honored, for sure."

"He came up to us."

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Well, I hope you enjoyed that! And I hope you liked that semi-happy part at the end. Cause...well...best not to give that away, right? Oh, I can't wait! So many ideas...are brimming with angst! I'm so happy!

Please drop a review for me! They are very much appreciated!

And many thanks to Eilonwy4 for betaing this story!


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